The drama seemingly over, most of the courtiers drifted away in search of something more entertaining. The queen sent a few lackeys off to fetch Hayreddin’s treasure, then dealt with the erstwhile pirate, giving Beka back her handcuffs when she was done. Then the queen gestured Beka, Alexei, and Koshei to their seats at the table.
“Such thirsty work,” the queen said. “It is definitely time for tea.” She poured out water that was still steaming hot, because after all, they were in the Otherworld. “You shall have to tell Us more about this intriguing Human, Alexei. She sounds as though she might almost be a match for you.”
As Alexei muttered into his cup, the queen turned to Chewie. “My dear Chudo-Yudo, you have quite made your point. Do please have some of the Water of Life and Death now. You are dripping blood on my good china.”
Chapter 21
Bethany glanced at the clock on the kitchen wall as it ticked noisily past midnight. Her father had gone to bed hours ago, exhausted by his unusually stressful day, although gleeful about his part in their adventures. Or misadventures.
She had been stalling, doing little things around the house, and pretending she wasn’t waiting for Alexei to return. But she’d taken Lulu out for one last pee and checked on the puppies an hour ago. It was time to admit to herself what she’d feared all along - he wasn’t coming back.
With a sigh, she got up from the table, poured out her cold tea, and was reaching for the light switch when she heard a knock at the door. Her heart might have skipped a beat or two as she walked over to open it.
“Hi,” Alexei said, as if he’d just strolled over from the guest house after a normal day. “I saw your light on and hoped you might still be up. Can I come in?”
Bethany looked over his shoulder to see if he was alone. “Are Beka and Chewie with you?”
He shook his head. “They’ve been back at the bus for a while. I had a few extra things to deal with in the Otherworld before I came back through, so it took me a little longer.” He rolled his eyes. “Besides, high tea with the queen went on forever. You know, they don’t serve beer at those things. What’s the point?”
He brushed past her and sat down at the table, staring at the refrigerator until she took the hint and grabbed him a cold brew. Bethany didn’t bother to get one for herself. She had no idea how this conversation was going to go, and she felt as though she needed to have her wits about her. What was left of them, anyway.
“Are you okay?” he asked, once he’d drained half the bottle.
Bethany gave him a lopsided smile, the best she could manage under the circumstances. “I’m fine. Some nasty bumps and bruises, my wrists are pretty torn up, and I’ll probably have some strange nightmares for a while, but considering that I was kidnapped by pirates, not bad really.”
Alexei grinned at her. “That’s my girl. And where is your father? Do you need me to help you put him to bed?”
She shook her head wryly. “He put himself to bed an hour ago. Apparently all your nagging and trickery paid off, and he is in much better shape than he was when you got here. Once this crisis forced him to push himself, he discovered that he is capable of doing almost everything for himself now. It looks like we won’t be needing a home health aide after all.”
“Oh,” Alexei said. His face bore a curious expression, and she couldn’t tell if he was relieved or disappointed. “That’s good, I guess.”
“Yeah,” Bethany said, her stomach feeling as though it were filled with lead. “So you don’t need to stay here and take care of him anymore. And you fixed all the stuff you broke at the bar, so you’re free to travel on to whatever adventure waits for you down the road.”
He finished his beer and set the empty bottle down decisively on the table. “Ah, right. I’ve actually had a few thoughts about that, if you’d be interested in hearing them. If it’s not too late, that is.”
Bethany got the sinking feeling it was too late for a lot of things, but she figured she might as well get the bad news now instead of later. It wasn’t as though she was going to sleep anyway, once he went back to the guest house to pack so he could leave in the morning.
“Not at all,” she said in what was supposed to be a perky tone, although it ended up making her sound like a slightly demented cheerleader. “I can’t wait to hear where you’re going on that ridiculous Harley next. A riding tour of all the dive bars in Alaska, maybe? It’s a big state. Might take you a while.”
Alexei fiddled with the ends of his beard. “Well, there’s kind of a problem with that plan. For one thing, I’ve figured out recently that I don’t seem to find drinking and brawling as entertaining as I used to. It was a disappointment at first, but I guess after all these years, it’s only to be expected.”
Bethany blinked. “Really? It’s kind of hard to imagine you without the drinking and the fighting. Are you sure?”
He shrugged. “I know. Kind of shocking, isn’t it? The other problem is that I’m not sure the motorcycle is going to work for extensive traveling anymore. You see, I’ve gotten kind of attached to one of Lulu’s puppies, and she said I could keep him. But it is going to be hard to fit a Great Dane puppy on the back of a motorcycle, even one as big as the Harley. Not to mention that he’ll probably keep growing. They do that, you know.”
“Huh,” Bethany said, feeling a spark of something that felt suspiciously like hope. She stomped on it with a mental boot. “How were you planning to deal with that, exactly? Trade the bike in on a nice practical SUV?”
Alexei looked appalled. “Hell, no. What kind of barbarian do you think I am?” He held up one hand. “Never mind, don’t answer that.” He gave her that grin again, the one that made her knees weak and her fingertips tingle. “Actually, I was thinking I might try staying in one place for a while. This place, specifically, if you don’t have any objections.”
“This place,” Bethany repeated. “You mean the guest house?” It wasn’t what she’d hoped for, in her heart of hearts, but at least he’d still be here. “I guess you could stay there until tourist season starts. Then we’d have to rent it out, I’m afraid. We need the money.”
“Ah,” Alexei said. “About that. You don’t actually.”
Bethany felt like she was missing something in this conversation. Maybe a number of somethings. “What are you talking about? Of course we do. Even if my father doesn’t need a home health aide, he has lots of medical expenses. The income from the bar barely covers them, even without me taking a salary. We need all the extra money we can get.”
“I think this will probably help with that,” Alexei said, reaching into an inside pocket of his leather jacket. He pulled out a small pouch and upended it onto the table, spilling out a small handful of old, slightly battered-looking gold coins.